Photo Essay: A look at Santo Domingo's Mercado Modelo

by Blair Loup

I recently ate and drank my way through Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, and while at times things were very foreign to me, most of the time it felt a lot like home. It was hot, humid and I almost always had a beer in my hand.

The Mercado Modelo is full of interesting characters and beautiful produce. I had a few bites, got proposed to and snapped some gorgeous pictures.

Below you'll find a visual tour of the market. Be on the lookout for a post on all my experiences in the Dominican Republic!

Plantain carts and motorcycles. This is Santo Domingo.

Habaneros with a side of eggplant.

Peppers and potatoes.

Macadamia nuts.

Yucca is almost guaranteed to be on every table in the Dominican Republic.

Salted fish.

Drying flowers hang in nearly every booth.

Assorted hanging meats.

Bottles full of roots are strung up all over. Pour rum inside and you'll have Mamajuana, a local aphrodisiac.

While this man hacked heads of cabbage into slaw at an alarming rate, he also took the time to propose.
We haven't set a date yet.

4ft. tall cinnamon sticks. No joke.

Seeds and fresh eggs.

Flowers, grass reeds and palm leaves.

The prettiest beans in all the land.

The cashew fruit.

Bird's Eye chilis.

This trip to Santo Doming, DR was provided through trade with the Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism.

Flavorful Shreveport/Bossier: Sabores Brings a Dominican Flare to Northern Louisiana

On a Shreveport-Bossier media trip this past May I had the pleasure of eating at an authentic Dominican restaurant in Bossier City. Sabores is a family owned and operated eatery with dishes reminiscent of those I had on my trip to the Dominican Republic (Parts Uno, Dos, and Tres). I'm extremely glad that we got to try some of the international cuisine in the area because they rolled out the red carpet for our group. We feasted on their favorite traditional dishes and a few surprises. I really hope I get to go back to Sabores and the entire area about the Barksdale Air Force Base. I understand that there's even more ethnic restaurants to explore!

Shrimp Mofonguitos: a plantain pedestal topped with an avocado mixture and a sautéed garlicky shrimp, garnished with a fried plantain spear.

Shrimp Mofonguitos

Picadera: essentially a snack tray, this dish is decorated with a creamy cilantro sauce, cracklin-esque morsels of pig, fried plantains, and mini sandwiches.

Picadera

Sancocho: a traditional stew made with bone in cuts of pork, hearty potatoes, and other veggies. Sabores typically only serves this on Sundays, but the owners were nice enough to fix a pot for our visit and didn't disappoint. The rustic and earthy stew packed plenty of flavor!

Sancocho

This dish is sort of like a Dominican take on Shrimp Creole served atop gulf fish. A tomato based red sauce sprinkled with red and green bell peppers and succulent shrimp is poured over a dramatic whole Red Snapper that's crispy fried and heaven in my mouth.

Red Snapper with Shrimp

Pernil Herneado: Slow-roasted pork with cooked down onions. Sometimes the simple things are the most delicious.

Pernil Horneado

Bandeja: literally meaning platter, this bandeja consisted of fried pork belly, white rice, avocado, fried egg, chorizo, and red beans. It reminded me a lot of an authentic Dominican rice and beans dish.

Bandeja

Mama Juana: The family prepared this traditional liquor in celebration of welcoming a new baby to the family and was kind enough to allow us all a few sips. This isn't a great picture, but you can clearly see all the leaves, twigs, and roots packed in the bottle. All of these bits and pieces of tree and herbs are soaked in rum, red wine, and honey to make an end result tasting like an earthy, licorice-y port wine. On the beaches of the DR the locals would sell Mama Juana and rave about its aphrodisiac properties. It can't hurt to take a shot, that's for sure!

Mama Juana

Cervezas in Cabarete: Jay's Adventure in the Dominican Republic Part Uno

I made my first international trek since starting Bite and Booze in the spring of 2013 with a journey to Toronto for a weekend at TBEX with Visit Baton Rouge. Later in the year, I had a chance to travel to the Dominican Republic for the first time. A little sun and Caribbean paradise is exactly what I needed... though really I most looked forward to experiencing a different culture complete with authentic local foods.

Our trip, sponsored by Dominican Republic's Ministry of Tourism, brought us to the north coast of the nation that shares the island of Hispaniola with neighboring Haiti. We flew into Gregorio Luperón International Airport outside Puerto Plata and then bused to Cabarete, a beach town where kitesurfing is the most popular sport and life is about as laid back as it gets. Our crew, made up of writers and bloggers from all walks of men's lifestyle, checked in at the Millennium Resort & Spa right on the beach in Cabarete. I'd highly recommend this place to anybody looking to visit the area.

The view from my room at Millennium Resort & Spa in Cabarete, Dominican Republic

We had a lot planned for all the men on the trip. Our Dominican "Mancation" had been designed by our tour guides Annie and Jess as well as our local expert Carlos from the Ministry of Tourism. Upon arrival to our hotel on a warm and sultry afternoon I immediately requested the local flagship beer of the Dominican Republic, Presidente. In an interesting tradition the beer came wrapped in a paper towel around not only the base of the bottle to serve as insulation but also around the neck. I soon found out that all beers in the Dominican Republic and in fact a lot of the Caribbean are served that way. I suppose you want the ice cold beer to stay frosty, so I understand the napkin koozie. The top napkin dates back to lesser bottling standards and reusing bottles. Beers were served with a napkin so that you could wipe rust off the rim underneath the cap. The beers are still served that way today, though I never noticed any rust issues.  

The Presidente itself is a pilsner style lager beer with a taste of the island. It works well as a beach beer for sure. While it is truly nothing noteworthy compared to the the world of craft beer, when you have some sand between your toes and it is hot and humid outside, the near-freezing cerveza certainly hits the spot.

On the first night there we took a stroll into the town of Cabarete which happens to be right down the beach from our lodging. Along the beach quite a few bars and restaurants gave life to the night breeze rolling in off the Atlantic. I looked forward to a great meal and some drinks to accompany the food. We passed a place called Mojito and I liked the look of the drink menu. That Presidente for 100 Dominican pesos translates into a little over $2. The Cuba Libre, or rum and Coke, even less. I could get used to this.

We ended up stopping at a little spot called the Emerald Beach Club which had a table waiting for us on the sand. I opted for the shrimp curry which came with some steamed veggies and coconut rice. As a whole the dish sufficed for the evening. The coconut rice with the curry sauce created a great flavor combination that worked with my fruity beach cocktail. The shrimp also did quite well in the curry sauce. Perhaps the highlight of the night was the mamajuana that we got from a beach merchant. Mamajuana is a local tonic that consists of rum, red wine, and bunch of unidentifiable bark, roots, and herbs. It is common to see people selling shots of the elixir on the beaches around the Dominican Republic. It is a pretty potent drink that dates back to the days of using such bitters for medicinal purposes. Mamajuana is also said to have an aphrodisiac property. I gave it a shot while in the company of strangers on the beach. The flavor tasted a little like cough syrup, a little like absinthe, and a little like nothing I had ever had before. Drinkable, yes, but I didn't find myself in a hurry to get another.

This marked conclusion of my first day in the DR. After a couple more beers on the beach I headed back to Millenium to rest up for the next day's adventures. There's more to come about other activities from the trip here on Bite and Booze, so stay tuned. For a little preview of what else I got into, check out the video below!